Newspapers: Representation (exams from 2024) GapFill

Unlike television or other forms of media, particularly anything produced by the BBC, newspapers are allowed to be openly  racistbiasedanti-monarchyinsulting in how they represent politics and breaking news.

A side effect of this is that the British press has often come under criticism for printing   sensitivecodedaccurateincorrect information that fits its own agenda, particular   Sundaycompact broadsheettabloidbroadsheet newspapers like the Daily Express or the now-defunct News of the World.

The Sun is undoubtedly an example of a paper with very obvious political views and affiliations, as it has long been supportive of  the SNPthe Liberal Democratsthe Labour Partythe Conservative Party, and of right-wing stances in general. The paper has earned a negative reputation due to its history of salacious, offensive and occasionally outright racism.

However, the front cover of 1^st January 2021 is somewhat unusual. At the time, the COVID-19   virusbacteriaplaguevaccine had been developed and was being rolled out to the general public, in order to help the UK recover. 

However, conspiracies about the virus being planned and the   anti-vaxanti-monarchyanti-immigrationanti-American movement became popular among some right-wing groups – which overlaps with The Sun's core audience.

The Guardian is a   far rightfar leftcentre-leftsocialist paper, which has more balanced coverage but is still biased even though it may not be as obvious at first. Their representation of Prime Minister (at the time)  Boris JohnsonTheresa MayLiz TrussRishi Sunak as a cartoonish buffoon in their choice of image indicates their opposition to the current government.